Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten today announced a new plan to end homelessness over 10 years. This is the first major initiative undertaken by the city since 1991 (I remember it because I chaired the committee). Sten's plan has the right focus: move people directly into affordable housing instead of warehousing them in shelters. The downside of the effort:
Advocates for the homeless raise objections to what they consider the city's parallel criminalization of homeless behavior, such as groups of three or more people sitting and standing in designated pedestrian zones. Last week, the council passed one ordinance that expands the list of offenses allowing exclusion from city parks, and another permitting police to arrest people for obstructing pedestrians downtown.
I would never have agreed to these provisions and hopefully the Oregon Law Center and others will challenge the legality of these actions. I'm sure, however, that Sten made these agreements with the business community in good faith. No plan is perfect. Portland has waited over a decade for a new concentrated effort like this one.
Let's set aside the concerns for a moment and congratulate Sten for his leadership on this issue. Anytime more low income housing is made available to move people from homelessness into housing it is a good day.
Read Sten's release here.
Additional reading: Illegal to be Homeless: The Criminalization of Homelessness in the United States
